Prince or the Princess
by SilverAngelone
Summary: "Hey, Kadar, learn to ask!" I turned to the Kiosk owner and laughed. "What will you do? The same thing as the first time and say no?" Please give a review so I know if i should continue or not. Thank you. Arabian Nights
1. Found

I watched a bird overhead as I sat on top of a building. Its wings were pure white like a cloud and I wanted to join it in flight. Shaking my black haired head I jumped down to the ground below. The people of this town call me a Prince of Thieves for I can steal anything, but never keep for myself.

With a sigh I walked into the market place and grabbed an apple then tossed it to a kid begging for money. He caught it and smiled as I kept walking onward. "Hey, Kadar, learn to ask!" I turned to the Kiosk owner and laughed. "What will you do? The same thing as the first time and say no?"

He stared at me in surprise. With that I walked on and then jumped on a peg high on the wall above when the guards tried to capture me. "I think not. You would rather have the future die then protect them." With a tsk I jumped onto a new peg then knelt down on one knee and watched my people.

They were playing with eachother. "If you want me to go then help those I watch over." My voice was soft as I caught sight of a knife out of the corner of my eye and dodged it quickly. "Kadar!" I heard one of the kids call out to me as they saw what was happening. The kids stopped and stared at me as I looked at the man who threw the dagger. "Kasai, are we really going to do this today?"

The kids took cover as I did a leap of faith into a hay pile below me. My landing was soft and with ease I got up and looked at Kasai the lead palace guard. "So, are we going to play that game again?" His eyes seemed to become a little darker as though he actually wanted to play our annual fight.

Looking up at the sky, I sighed. "No, it's almost time to go to Thunder. He'll be worried." I could feel them coming closer from behind so they could try to catch me. "Who's Thunder?" Kasai was trying to distract me but it wasn't working that well as I danced away from someone's arms "A wild stallion." With a loud shrill whistle I heard him coming. His hooves pounded on the sand covered ground until he was by my side. "How do you care for him" A small smile came to my face. "I don't." My voice was sly as I looked at the black Arabian horse as its blue shined.

"Come on, Thunder." I spoke softly as I got onto his back and grabbed hold of some of his hair. With a snort and a toss of his head the horse ran forward and I carefully lowered myself closer to his back. "Well this will be fun to come back in." Up ahead the gates began to close and Thunder rammed himself into them and forced them apart causing them to break from his power.

With a bang they landed and he ran on into the sand beyond the village. "Thunder, are you okay?" He nodded and ran deeper into the desert to our dwelling. After a while we were home in a building far away from all life with an oasis around it. All that follow from the palace would never last without Thunder or my aids or by our tracks that we never clean up.

Here is where my subjects gather every day. Ten buildings long and two stories high is our little shelter from the sun and the moon. That is our home. Around it and in the basement is an oasis. We stopped outside and I jumped down before giving Thunder a pat on his shoulder. "Thanks, I wouldn't have escaped without you." He snorted and began to eat as I walked into the building while everyone began to gather. "Nice distraction. Never thought I would see a guard pee themselves like they did!" The boys laughed as I rolled my eyes.

"We have Thunder to thank this time." They nodded and went to their mats. Forty kids lived with us all with their own mats that I had found in abandoned houses in the village or in kiosks. In the basement were some goats, chickens, and a dog for those that are blind. Mostly, they survive off of us though.

With a sigh I climbed up the side of the house to the roof and sat down while keeping watch over our area for raiders that come at times. The moon began to rise and a hand lightly touched my shoulder. Kota. "You should rest." My friends black hair was short and well-kept as his green eyes watched me. Only he knows that I'm a girl and he loves me as well for my bravery and for my skills.

"I'm fine." Four years older and a foot taller than my four foot eight inches; I can use him as a leaning post. "Happy eighteenth birthday." I looked up at him in surprise then relaxed against him as he sat down. "You should eat as well." I berated him with a sigh then a small smile. Gently, he put his arm around my shoulders as I yawned. "Sleep, we can keep eachother warm."

I woke to the sound of a grunt and quickly opened my eyes and sat up in confusion. Behind me lay Kota; unconscious on the ground as a man in complete black clothing watched me while standing over him. The fear quickly vanished and anger began to rise in its place. Thunder was snorting down below to attack the stranger for hurting Kota. "Hush, less you want to wake the young ones."

He became silent as the man relaxed slightly and looked as though he wasn't going to hurt me. "So, you are the so called 'Prince' of thieves." With a yawn I stood up and turned to him completely. "Yes, I am and you hurt my friend." I walked up to Kota and made sure he was alive and well. Carefully, I picked him up before jumping down from the roof and walking into the house.

With a small smile I set him down on my mat then left the house and looked at Thunder. With a snort my brave stallion came up to me and nuzzled my black shirt. My pants were a little loose and warm in the cool night air. "Shh, I'm alright. Never provoke a cobra or it will striked." There was a light laugh and a large hand touched my shoulder and roughly spun me around.

Thunder snorted and moved to stand in front of me as though he was my shield for battle. "What is with this horse?" A small smile came to my face as I realized the advantage I had over him. An over protective horse. "I've raised him since he was a foal. That is why he protects me. Thunder, behave." He snorted then backed off enough to graze and watch to make sure the stranger didn't hurt me.

"What is it that you want?" My eyes watched the strangers every movement so that I wouldn't be caught off guard if he attacked me. "We wish to know who your father is." I stared into the green eyes with a frown upon my face as I thought back to the last time I saw my father. "I was two when I was left behind so I would not know eight years later." Kota came out of the house moaning while rubbing his head where he must have been hit. "Uh, he hits pretty hard." Kota looked up at us and stared in surprise then began to advance as though he was going to attack the visitor.

"Kota, be nice, he is my guest." Kota frowned and sighed in annoyance. "I know the rules fairly well for guests." He walked up to Thunder only to get scolded by him with a snort. "Yeah, easy does it boy." Thunder knocked Kota down with his head and I sighed while putting my fingers to my temple and began to message my headache from the two of them. "Kota, go to bed, you are a bear after being unconscious, and, Thunder, go to your pasture."

Thunder and Kota walked off and I sighed then looked at my post. "Those two fight like tom cats." Shaking my head I waked up to the house then scaled the wall and climbed onto the roof with ease once more since I wasn't needed on the ground. "Why are you up here?"

I looked over at the stranger and then looked out over the desert. "I look over my own. All we are doing is trying to survive. I help them with that even thought is wrong to steal. Here we only have the basement for shelter if things go wrong. We survive the best we can from what we grab the day before. I have even blind kids that have a dog to look after them." With a sigh I looked at the sky. "Not even my father can help me in this. Days after he left I was thrown out of the city and found a man hurting Thunder. I rescued him and for hours we wandered about till we found this place a heaven for us to survive. We stayed in the village and saved another kid, Kota, then more and we became a family in a way. Those that find work leave but help us when they can. We are but children in an adults world."

The man watched me then removed his head gear so I could see his face once more. "Come we'll talk to the sultan together." I bit my lower lip then stopped before I shook my head. "I know enough history to know that that is a bad idea. Unless all the kids go I don't go." He smiled and nodded then came a little closer to me. "Alright, I shall tell him that then. I shall see you in the market tomorrow."

I quickly memorized his face so I could avoid him and nodded a goodnight before he put on his head gear then left. Once I saw that he was completely gone I closed my eyes and lied down while relaxing on the roof.

Arms held me to a warm chest and I yawned then opened my eyes to see Kota was holding me into him. Looking around I found we were on the ground and everyone was watching from the house as he stopped walking. "Morning." Another yawn escaped me as I got out of his arms and stood up before I began to stretch. "Uh, I'm too tired to go to town. Keep everyone here and be on guard. I'll explain later on." He looked uncertain then nodded and I turned to Thunder and held up my hand. "Let's go."

He came up to me and with a single bound, and a little help of his hair, I was on his back. Within seconds he was off and running out of the oasis and into the sandy desert beyond. I let him figure out where we were going since he had the way memorized already and I still can't find my way to the village. After a bit of looking at just desert we approached the village and I jumped as I high as I could off his back and onto a building before he went to hide himself in the stables.

Carefully, I began to run and jump from roof to roof until I was by the kiosks except on a roof hiding from sight. Children were playing below and the parents watched them closely in case my kids would steal something from them. With a leap of faith I was in a pile of hay and I stood up then shook myself to get rid of the straw that was in my hair and on my tank top. I looked about closely before jumping onto a peg on the wall above me then surveying the area with ease from practice. "What are you doing up there? Are you watching your people or are you going to kill someone?"

"I'm watching everyone not just my people." My voice was soft as the stranger from the night before tossed his knife at me with good aim. With a single leap I was on the roof and was looking down at him in confusion. "Call your horse!" I laughed at the idea of involving Thunder. "No, he's running in the desert at the minute." I could see the man's frustration as ropes suddenly appeared around me and I fell over the edge of the roof and ropes tightened around my waist and my hands. "Thunder! Run!" I felt something hit me in the shoulder after they pulled me up and I passed out from the pain.

A hand lightly touched my forehead and I pulled away before opening my eyes to see a doctor as he turned and walked away from me. "You went… far! He's… kid! …Doesn't deserve..!" My eyes looked about the room to find it was just a back porch to a garden at the palace. "Uh, my shoulder." I slowly sat up and winced as I used the bad shoulder and tried not to cry out from the pain. The stranger from the kiosks turned to me in surprise then looked at the guards with anger pure in his face. "Be gone!"

They left as I grit my teeth and got off the bed so that I could try and get the feeling into my shoulder. I was happy to find that I was still wearing my clothes from the day before as I stretched my body out. "That was low even for you, Ah!" I had stretched out my arm only to have nothing but searing pain go through me at the feeling of it moving. "I told them to stay in the palace not to go to the market." His eyes followed me as I walked out to the garden and jumped into a tree. Carefully, I grabbed a branch with my guard arm and swung myself onto the branch so I was sitting down on it.

"Father, wait till he calms down. The guards don't listen to me very well." There was a chuckle then a fat old guy was under the tree watching me closely as I stood up and looked about for a new place to be. Quickly, I jumped to a new tree only to fall to the ground landing roughly on my knees and scrapping them up. With quick moves I was on my feet and moving into a new tree top hiding once more amongst its branches.

"He is amazing. I've never seen such a fast person." I held my breath as I listened closely. "Yes, he is. I wish you would help his children though." I winced against the pain in my should as I lightly rubbed it hoping to get feeling back into it while I had the chance. "He'll act like he should if we help the…"

I hadn't realized I had passed out from the pain till I fell out of the tree and landed hard on the ground. Pain went through my whole body as I slowly sat up then looked about in confusion for a second. "You okay?" With a sigh I nodded and stood up and began to look at the Sultan and the prince in fear of my own. "I need to go home. The kids must be worried. I'm the only one to watch them."

"Then go." I didn't need another word as I took off running then climbed a wall and jumped down on the other side and ran to the oasis. Thunder was the first to greet me down knocking me down onto my back and I caught myself with my arms. A yelp of pain escaped me as I landed mostly on my bad arm.

Pain shot through me and I curled into a ball as Kota came to my side then moved me onto my back. "Kadar's been hurt!" The kids came running with my mat and put me on it before carrying me inside once more then stood over me with worry clear on their faces as I was set down. "Kadar, what happened?" I winced as Kota jostled my arm slightly while trying to get a look at it.

"Ask him." The prince, stranger, walked into the room then gulped as I glared at him with pure hatred for following me and for causing all the pain I was in even if it wasn't directly. "I didn't know there were this many. Oy! We need another wagon so they can be moved to the palace!"

Water splashed my face and I came to slightly. I winced from the pain in my shoulder as someone moved it against my best of wishes. "Don't touch it!" Kota screamed at the prince as I whimpered in pain again and tried not to pass out again. "It needs to be reset or he'll never use it again." "I'm a girl, not a boy!" There was pain as someone reset my shoulder then I passed out once again.

Something soft was under me and something even softer under my head. I could feel something around my shoulder as I tried to move it only to find I couldn't. "Shh, rest. I'm surprised you told me that secret of yours." I could hear the prince shift slightly next to me. "No one ever asked me when they gave me that name, so Kota helped me fit the part." A horse snorted then stomped their hoof. "Behave, Thunder." He became silent and I opened my eyes then looked about the area before sighing as I looked up above me.

The prince stood over me with black hair and green eyes. He had a slight smile on his face as someone led Thunder away from us. "Come on, I'm betting you wish to see the others." I nodded and he helped me up so I was pressed against his chest. With a conscious laugh he pulled away. "I'm sorry, I should be more careful with a princess of thieves. You may steal my heart away next." Rolling my eyes I walked passed him shoving him slightly and then walked into a glass wall that I had never noticed was there.

"Are you sure you watch your people?" I turned and glared at the prince then looked at the captain. "There you are! Will you control your brats for children?" With a sigh I walked through a doorway and walked up to the captain. A frown was on my face as I looked him in the eyes. There came a gulp from him as I felt myself turning a little red with rage. "Why don't you since you did so well trying to keep me at bay." Anger seethed into my voice as I spoke.

"Prince Shiro, allow me to-." The prince gave the guard no time to finish what he was going to say. "No, she has a point, you should have been helping her and her people long ago." I walked past him and out a door to find the kids running rampant as though they were monkeys and a herd of stampeding elephants. Shaking my head I put two fingers into my mouth and let out a sheer whistle to get their attention. Within seconds every child with the aid of the others stood in front of me watching or listening to what I was about to say.

"The sultan was nice enough to bring you here so don't abuse your privileges or I'll have you washing the floor with your tongues." They laughed as Kota came to my side and lightly touched my shoulder. Upon his face was a small smile as he watched me closely. "Well, at least we know you're back to your old self." I rolled my eyes then looked at each one of the kids as I spoke. "Alright, who is the jerk who ordered this mockery of our little family?"

Everyone looked at me then lowered their heads in shame. "I thought I taught you better than that. If someone let's you into their home then don't be rude or mean." With that I walked out to the stables and found Thunder chained up in a stall so that he couldn't escape it. "I wouldn't miss, he's a nasty one."

"Oh, Thunder, what have they done to you?" I unchained him and gave him a hug as he snorted then lightly nuzzled my back. "So you must be his owner." Turning to the man I frowned then nodded once. "Yes." He nodded and went back to his work as I lightly petted Thunder's nose. "You stay and listen to them. I have to get going. The prince will take care of you for me."

With a sigh I turned and walked into the town then through the market place and out of the city. Not once did I look back out of fear that I would lose control of my emotions and run back to a place that I wasn't needed any longer. Once I was out I started to run so that no one would be able to keep up after a while. I didn't care where I was as long as I got away from the palace and the village so that no one could find me. After a day and night's worth of travel I reached an oasis with a cave and I drank some water before walking inside of the cave and sitting down. My eyes slowly closed as I lied down and fell asleep inside of it.

"The tracks end at the cave." A furry head butted my shoulder and I cried out in pain. "She's here and she's asleep." Arms carefully picked me up then I was on Thunder's back as he pranced a little bit. "She needs to eat more." There was a still silence. "She waits till we have eaten before she does. If we went hungry then so did she and she gave her food to the youngest so they could survive." A hand touched my back and I spoke of being cold as there came a sigh. "Come on, before she catches her death."

I woke to a cold towel on my head. No cold and wet towel. With a whimper as I moved my shoulder; I opened my eyes and blinked against the blurriness. "Well, it is about time-." I looked over at Kota and frowned. "Enough, Kota, I have my reasons just as you-. Ow!" He had smacked me hard across the face to keep me from saying anything else. Anger coursed through my veins as I jumped off the bed and knocked him down with a hard shove.

"You guys need to move on! I'm not needed here anymore!" He stared up at me in shock as my shoulders sagged and a tear fell from my eye. They didn't understand just yet. I'm banned from the city still by order of the last king. Once he was alive I was ordered by him to be thrown out of the city. That is why my name had changed to Kadar when I left. I had given myself that name and the kiosks managed to come up with that name as well. "Thunder and you guys belong in the city while I never have."

"Well, I guess I will have to leave with you then to keep you out of trouble." Turning to the prince I growled in anger. "Not happening." My voice was hard and my eyes were the same as I looked at the prince and he squirmed under my gaze. "Then you don't-." I punched him hard in the stomach sending him to his butt. "You may be a prince, but you need to respect others wishes."

Kota looked at me in shock then at the prince as he gasped in surprise at the attack. "Don't worry, she's done worse. Never killed but does injure." The prince stood up slowly as I began to sway then fell and hit my head on something hard and sharp.

"Is she… okay?" Silence that was thick and heavy fell over the room. "We don't know." A hand lightly stroked my cheek as I tried to go back to sleep. "To think… I admired a girl for her courage and-. What's this? Dad? What did you say that princess's birthmark looked like?" There was silence as footsteps came over to me. "A flower." "Mom…" My voice sounded weak as someone sighed and everyone else gasped in surprise. "She calls out to her parents a lot."

My eyes snapped open and I focused on the ceiling in confusion so I could recall where I was at. Just as quickly the dream vanished from my immediate memory and was replaced with a headache. "What was-?" Kota glared at the prince and shook his head to get him to be silent. "She won't remember. She never does. I bet her memory is locked away." I stared into space then closed my eyes and yawned. A towel was shoved into my mouth and I drank the liquid from it and ate the fruit within it before passing out once more.

"Her real name is Kida, not Kadar." "Kida?" "That's her royal name. We never found out what happened to her parents though."


	2. Death and memories

A hand, probably Kota's, stroked my cheek as I rested on my pillow. "Come on, Kida, come back to us." That voice. I slowly opened my eyes and glared up at Kota. "I'm not Kida. I'm Kadar to you, Kota." He chuckled softly as the prince smiled and came up to me. Lightly, he touched my forehead before leaning down and lightly kissing my lips till I punched him hard in the stomach to get him away. With a gasp of pain and surprise he moved away and held his stomach as he doubled over. "Kadar, that wasn't very nice to do."

I looked at Kota and frowned. "Well, neither is the fact that he was kissing me." Shaking my head I tried to sit up only to fall back down. A low growl of frustration escaped me as the kids appeared in the doorway staring at the scene of the prince on his knees holding his stomach while wincing and me angry. The first to walk in was my third in command, Erin. His blonde hair and blue eyes showed he wasn't from around here but we didn't ever ask in case it was a sore subject for him.

"Um, Kadar, did you punch Prince Shiro?" I looked at him and nodded making him stifle a laugh along with everyone else till the king came in. "Shiro, what are you doing on the floor?" I closed my eyes and sighed. "It isn't his fault, I punched him for kissing me." There was silence as Kota lightly took my hand in his and lightly ran his thumb over the back of it. "Shiro, I told you that I have a wife for you to marry! You don't marry a street rat!" There was a grunt and I opened my eyes to see him stumbling to his feet.

With a sigh I sat up then moved my feet off the side of the bed before standing up to find I was taller than the sultan. "I will not have myself insulted right in front of my face. You may be sultan but you are inconsiderate as to the way your people think." He stopped and turned to me with shock on his face. "Guards! I want her executed immediately!" A small smile came to my face as I raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't risk the wrath of the town and of the children. I have more people I have helped then you have in a life time."

There was fear on his face as I looked over my shoulder to see the guards standing halfway between me and the door. They were watching me in fear of their own. "Kids, looks like this isn't our home if we are insulted right in front of us." Kota stood up and came to my side then with some others help led the way out to the stables where Thunder was waiting.

"Get the youngest and the blind on his back." There are two blind kids and one child that was around the age of one if I was thinking correctly. I felt my eyes slowly close as my knees began to buckle under me. There was a gasp of surprise then arms carefully picked me up in them and I was set down on something and an arm was around my waist so that I wasn't slumped forward. "Take the white horses. We can reach a safe area by next nightfall if we are careful."

With that the horse was off and I knew Thunder was right next to us. "Come on, Kadar, stay awake for me. You can't be that injured still or that hungry." My eyes slowly opened and I found that Prince Shiro was the one that was riding with me. Kota was next to us on one side with Thunder on the otherside easily keeping up. "Why are you riding with me?" Kota glanced over and sighed. "Change horses then, Kadar. You've done it before." With ease I managed to stand up and jump onto the white horses back. I sat down in front of Kota and glared at the prince in hatred and anger.

"What do you have against me? I was the one that told the kids to just use a horse from the stables. I'm the one that was helping Kota get you out of there. He was going to have you hung tomorrow if the guards caught you, and I couldn't have that." There was sadness in his eyes as he looked down in shame. "There is no shame in falling in love, Shiro."

I looked ahead so I could ignore his surprised glance. There came a sigh then Kota put his arms around my waist and held me close to him from behind. "Does that mean it isn't a bad thing that your follower falls in love with you as well?" Kota's voice was soft in my ear and I frowned. "Kota and Shiro, I'm a boy, remember?" He pulled away as the kids laughed slightly at this. Shiro looked away in embarrassment as I smiled slightly then had the horse pick up even more speed while Thunder hung back a bit so that the kids wouldn't fall off. "I'll get the animals later unless they have already been stolen."

With a sigh we finally stopped at an oasis that I knew from one of my travels. The oasis was big enough to fit all of the horses and then use kids and still we wouldn't be seen. There was also a huge building that couldn't completely stand out from the greenery. Carefully, I stopped the horse then got off its back and easily walked into the forest of trees and up to the building to make sure it was as I left it.

"Best stay there, Shiro, you don't want her boobie traps to go off on you. They can get pretty painful." Kota had been the first to experience my boobie traps until the blind kids came then I had to disable all of them. With a sigh I began to disable all the traps till everything was safe once more then I led the way into the house. "There is an oasis even bigger in the basement, lead the horses down there, Kota."

He nodded and ran to do as I bidded then I began to weave mats for everyone with such ease that I had ten of them done in twenty minutes. "Want some help?" I looked up at a blind kid and smiled. "Yes please. I'm weaving mats." I handed them some materials and they got to work. Within minutes we had all the mats that we would need in a life time then some extras incase the ground was too hard for us. "Thanks you guys." They nodded and sat there making some more as I went on to go see about food.

Around the oasis they had tree rats and some ground rats that were pretty easy for me to catch. There were a few snakes but I quickly found a way to get rid of them by digging a deep enough hole that they couldn't get out then I out lined it in stone so that every time I found a snake I could put it in there to die. Lastly, I made a wooden lid and found a rock to put over it.

Once I was done I began to check about to snakes and quickly put three of them into the hole and watched as they tried to escape right off the bat. That is where Prince Shiro found me. "Kida, will you please forgive me? I just… I just didn't know how to express my love and happiness." I turned to him with a frown. "Is that what you think I'm still angry about? I'm not angry about that anymore. I'm mostly irritated by what your father said." Shaking my head I walked past him up to the weavers. "Thanks boys. I'll be back to get some more in a few." I grabbed a huge stack of mats then went into the house and began to set a whole bunch down on the ground before putting two or three down for each child then I walked out and grabbed some more with Prince Shiro's help.

Together we finished up the mats then we got to work on helping get the horses down to the basement then I set up a way for them to get light so they wouldn't be so scared. Once we were done we lied down on the mats. Prince Shiro moved his right behind me and managed to pull me up to the edge of his then he moved into my back as his arm wrested around my waist while the other one became my pillow.

"You need to rest, Kida." I pulled away from him and sighed. "I'm fine. You rest." With that I got to my feet with ease then walked out of the house with everyone staring at my back. "What is with you hitting on a boy!" A laugh almost escaped me as I walked to the side then with the aid of the trees I climbed up the side and onto the roof then I stared out over the vast desert land for danger. "I found you." At the sound of the voice I jumped and turned to see the sultan. "What are you doing here? I thought we left you at the palace in your little temper."

He frowned at hearing this then sighed. "I have my ways. Now, come here so I can kill you without missing." With a growl I jumped up into the air and a shot was fired and it scratched the side of my arm. Quickly, I knocked the sultan off his feet then took the weapon and threw it down into the snake pit.

"What have you done!" He drew his sword and I quickly began to dodge his attacks until I was at the edge of the roof. A frown came to my face and I knew sweat was appearing on my brow from such concentration as to where he was going to try and stab me next. Suddenly, he came right at me and I quickly jumped up into the air and landed lightly in the center of a tree's branches. There I stood staring at him while I relaxed slightly.

There was no way I was going to be able to leave the tree without him getting to me or his guards if they were down below. With a sigh I put two fingers to my lips then whistled. Within seconds I could hear Thunder as men cried out in pain from his attacks. A small smile came to my face as I jumped out of the tree and landed lightly on my feet before walking up to Thunder. "Thank boy." I patted his shoulder and he nuzzled mine before walking back into the house and Shiro came up to me.

"Are you okay?" A frown came to my face. "Why wouldn't I be? God, you might want to make sure that you aren't a girl instead of a boy." Now he looked a little mad till Kota pulled him aside and spoke to him. Looking up I found the sultan watching the boys then he raised his sword and threw it. I ran as fast as I could but it seemed as though I slowed down with time as the sword moved closer and closer to Kota till it stabbed him right through the heart.

He turned to me and mouthed I love you before starting to fall. I ran up to his side then caught him before he hit the ground. "Kota, come on, stay with me." He didn't move a muscle. With a growl I pulled the sword out of his chest then turned to find the sultan staring at me in fear. Anger coursed through me as I watched him closely. "Give me the sword, Kadar, you don't have blood on your hands yet." Shiro took the sword from me then walked up to his father and with a single move stabbed him through the heart as dark clouds appeared above us.

In the distance there was thunder as I knelt down next to Kota and let the tears fall from my eyes as I carefully picked up his still form then carried him into our house. "Let her be." Erin's voice was soft as he ushered the boys away from me. "What was Kota to Kadar?" "He was like his brother or is it a boyfriend. One or the other. They were really close and he wouldn't let Kota go too far from him. Kadar would get the idea and Kota would follow closely on it, unless of course, it was way too dangerous for him then he would stay home with the blind kids."

I gently set Kota on a mat then walked outside and began to dig at the base of a tree he loved so much from the last house we lived at. "Kadar, you should rest." Erin's voice was soft, but I ignored him. "I'll be just fine, there is no point in me not burying him by morning. He would have done the same for me." Shiro came to my side and wordlessly began to dig as well. Suddenly, everyone was digging until it was deep enough for Kota.

After we finished everyone moved away as I walked into the house and grabbed Kota before bringing him outside and setting him into his grave after putting his mats underneath him. "Why is she putting the mats down first?" "It is her tradition that if someone dies then she wants them to have a comfortable rest not a hard one."

Once the mats were down and Kota was on them I carefully closed his eyes then began to cover him with dirt until he was buried. A single tear fell from my eye as I stood up and backed away one step then whispered a prayer of goodbye before turning and walking up to the house. With the ease of practice I climbed up the side of the house then sat down on the roof and stared out over the desert.

Now I could let the tears fall from my eyes as long as I didn't sob. "Kida?" Shiro's voice was soft as he came up to me and lightly touched my shoulder as he knelt down behind me. "For fourteen years I have known Kota. He was like a brother to me, always making sure that I eat something one day or another. Keeping an eye on me when he was grabbing food for the little ones in the market place."

With a sigh Shiro put his arms around me then gently began to rock us both so he could calm me down. "Erin will have to play the role of second in command then. I hope he has the guts for it by the way it sounds." I smiled softly. "Erin is Kota's little brother. He found that out not long after we got him into our group." This made Shiro pause and look down at me in surprise. "That is why he never left the group isn't it?" Looking up at him I nodded. "Erin is a special child. He can sometimes see the future and Kota already knew he was going to die because Erin told us both. That is why we were making the best of his last couple years we could."

Shaking my head I looked out over the desert as Shiro sat down and pulled me into his lap. "A desert rose is a rare rose but is well loved by all..." Shiro's voice was soft as he began to sing the song of the desert rose. "Her beauty is rare and her voice is gentle and kind. But what will happen when her beauty dies away? My desert rose you will always be loved by me even when the sky rains fire. I shall always love and be there for you." Kota had sung that song for me not even four days before we met Shiro.

A tear fell from my eye as I closed then and cuddled in closer to his shoulder as he sang the last few versus before I fell asleep.

"He sure sleeps soundly for someone that… Never mind, the tears are still falling they're just hard to see." I whimpered a little bit in my sleep then felt myself curl into a tight little ball. "She's lucky the others are still asleep when she is about to talk about her parents. So far Kota had told me that her parents were a king and queen but for some strange reason they were banned from the kingdom. That is as far as he got."

"Mommy, why are the guards carrying spears and swords?" I watched as the guards began to charge at our little caravan with the future king in the lead. Dad made mom put me down then told me to run. My feet carried me to the walls of the palace and I turned just in time to see my family slaughtered before my eyes except my brother.

Opening my eyes I sat up gasping as my mind raced over the dream once more. "I need to get going, there is something I must see to. Is Michel still in our group?" Erin slowly nodded as Shiro watched me in confusion. Without a word I jumped over the side of the building then ran into the house and right up to Michel's side as he sat there staring at the other wall. "You're my brother, aren't you?" Slowly, he nodded and looked over at me with a sad distant look on his face. "We were the only two to escape that slaughter the other children were killed even after pleading innocent."


	3. Stories of Kida

Shiro appeared behind us and I looked over my shoulder at him then looked back at Michel. "Sleep, I'll be back in a little bit." He nodded then soon fell asleep as I stood and walked with Shiro out of the house. Erin was already waiting so I knew they wanted to know what I discovered. "He's my little-." I felt something hit me in the shoulder and I turned to see a man with a dagger in his hand.

Reaching over my shoulder I felt my eyes slowly widen as I realized I was touching blood and something sharp. Too sharp for me to be happy about it. Carefully, I pulled the blade out of my back then walked up to the man. "You show no kindness when I have done no wrong. You attack even though I'm innocent. Poor innocent soul, why is it that you don't know the way of truth?" With that I moved quickly as he began to frantically throw daggers at me till he was out. By then I was right behind him. "Perhaps, it is time for your life to be severed from this world."

He turned to me in shock but it was too late I already had a blade in his back and within minutes he was on the ground with his eyes closed. "May your eternal slumber be somewhat peaceful." With that I picked him up using my good arm and carried him to the snake pit before dropping him in. I walked back to Shiro and Erin then yawned. "I forgot how hard it is moving as fast as I did. I don't do it often enough for my body to be used to it." Erin smiled softly and came up to me before lightly patting my shoulder. "Go and rest, you need a break. I'll take watch with Shiro."

I didn't even argue as I walked into the house then lied down on the mat next to my brother and passed out.

Lightly, a hand touched my wound and I whimpered softly but didn't cry out any louder. "It's pretty deep so I'm surprised she was able to use her special ability like that. I've only seen her do that once before but she usually won't remember it afterwards." Water began to trickle onto my wound and I yelped then opened my eyes and tried to jump up from surprise. "Shh, it's alright, Kadar. We're just trying to clean the wound. Quit… squirming."

With a sigh I gave up then let them finish before jumping up and running out of the house and into the desert. After a bit I came to a stop running then looked about in confusion before walking back into the oasis once more, only to meet the annoyed face of Shiro and the laughing face of Erin. "Can you do me a favor by not run about like an idiot for a while?" I looked at Shiro and sighed. "Ease up, Shiro, she didn't mean anything by it. Besides, I probably would have done the same if every kid here was surrounding her forcing her to be tortured like that. Kota was better at cleaning her wounds. He would catch her when she was fast asleep then just use a rag. She wouldn't move a muscle and it was as though-." "As though she was waiting for him to finish before she moved away from the touch of the towel." I looked over at Michel and smiled. "Well, at least someone understands why I hate having my wounds cleaned."

He laughed then watched me as I did a backflip then climbed up a tree and began to move amongst the branches till I was on top of the house. Once there I looked about in annoyance as my shoulder began to ache a bit. "Will you get down here and actually rest! The shoulder won't heal if you keep bouncing around while using it." I looked down at Shiro and rolled my eyes. "Great, you just challenged her. Now we will never get her to rest."

Suddenly, I heard soft singing and I looked down to see Michel watching me as he song a song from our past. Carefully, I jumped down and looked over at him as he kept singing. Slowly, the song began to come to an end and I yawned as I began to sway. My eyes slowly closed then arms caught me as I fell.

"What was that all about?" "It's the…"

My body lay on something softer than what I was used to. I opened my eyes then looked about in confusion when I found myself at the palace once more. Shiro was sitting at a table not far away chatting with what looked to be a royal. "Looks as though your friend is finally awake." I sat up and found someone had changed my clothes into that of a princess's clothes.

Without a word I left the room and there came a chuckle. "Is she always like that?" "Yes, she doesn't like admitting she's a girl. She thinks that it is a weakness." I walked down the hall then out into the garden and sat down on the edge of the fountain and watched the beautiful fish swim within it. Slowly, I closed my eyes as I placed my hand in the water and relaxed a bit at the feeling of its cool depths.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" My eyes opened and I looked over at Shiro then yawned. "I wouldn't know. I'm not paying attention." With that I closed my eyes and relaxed once more. There came a sigh then Shiro sat down behind me and pulled me onto his lap. "The kids said I should bring you and your brother here. Erin is running camp while you recover. Your brother is here to keep watch over you." My eyes opened and I stared up at Shiro in annoyance. "Let me be. I do not enjoy being handled by anyone."

He stared at me in surprise as I stood up then walked away before jumping with ease into a tree and sitting down on the branch with a sigh. My eyes slowly closed and I leaned back against the tree as I began to drift into sleep.

"Kida, don't you think it would be better to sleep in a bed?" I yawned then shifted a little in my sleep as my legs held onto the branch with such ease while I hung upside down from the branch. "Um, is that safe?" "Don't worry, she's slept like that before. Once it gets uncomfortable then she pulls herself back up and into a sleeping position once more.

A yawn escaped me and I opened my eyes to find Shiro and Michel staring up at me. "Uh, you two are so loud." With ease I dropped down from the branch after grabbing it with one arm and letting go with my legs. "So, how was your rest?" "Fruitful." They looked at me in confusion as I walked back to the palace then back to the couch I had been on before lying back down.

Slowly, I closed my eyes as Shiro appeared with my brother. "We should let her rest. That song will cause her to sleep for a while longer yet." There came the sound of footsteps then something warm was next to me. "I'll sleep next to her then so that she stays warm." "If you try anything without her consent then I will kill you." With that I heard my brother left as Shiro let me snuggle into his side.

"Well, I'm surprised to see you have tamed her to the point she at least snuggles anymore. I haven't seen her do that since mom and dad were alive." There was silence as a hand lightly touched my shoulder. "Kida, time to wake up so we can stretch your shoulder a bit." Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked at Shiro in confusion before managing to push him off the couch and onto the ground then I sat up and began to stretch my shoulder pushing it to the point that pain was the greatest but not showing any signs of it.

At last I stopped then yawned. "You should eat something. The kids have plenty to eat. I had brought them two carts loaded in food last night." I took an apple from a dish and stared at its red skin deep in my own thoughts. "Kida?" My mind slowly began to replay the scene of the day my parents died and I became an orphan and the Prince of thieves.

Suddenly, the apple was gone and I blinked in confusion then took a banana and ate it with ease before standing up and walking over to the windows to look outside. "I wouldn't. She may hurt you." A hand touched my shoulder and I turned so fast and kicked the person in the stomach sending them flying away from then I gasped as I realized who it was. "Shiro! You okay?"

He waved me off when I tried to help him. "I was warned. Uh, that will hurt tomorrow." Somehow I had managed to kick him all the way into the hallway where he slid to a stop at some guard's feet. "Leave her be, she meant no harm, I startled her." Surprise was on their faces as I let Michel help Shiro up instead of me. "Kida, it's alright, Michel warned me that you would do that to me and I guess I should have listened."

Without a word I turned and walked to the garden then sat within some bushes so that no one could find me as I went deep into thought. What I was looking at was the men that tried to kill us. Their faces, their expressions, anything that I could so that I could exact revenge on them and soon.

"Kida!" "Any sign of her?" "No, she wouldn't leave yet, not without Thunder." There was silence as I blinked then stood up and walked out of the bushes and right behind the boys. With a sigh I sat down cross legged and watched them as they turned around then gasped while jumping and grabbing eachother's arms. As soon as they realized it was just me then relaxed and moved away eachother with a bit of a shared glare. "What the heck? Why didn't you warn us?" "I thought I made plenty of noise to warn you."

A yawn escaped me as I stood up then moved to the side as a knife landed right where I had been. Retrieving it I smiled slightly then looked at where the man was hiding. "The leader of the assassins. I knew you would find me sooner or later." With a smile I jumped up into the tree as we began to play a game of chase and I was the one to catch him. "Come out, come out, come out, where ever you are!" I dodged another blade then there was a gasp as I threw the blade in the direct direction the blade had come from.

Turning I saw the man fall out of the tree then I picked up the blade left in the tree and sat down on the branch. "Well, I guess that is warning enough for the last of you three. I don't play nice any longer like a princess should." Shiro stared up at me in shock as I sat there playing with the blade. "Crap, this is the side of her that I really hate playing with." Michel's voice was soft as he pushed Shiro towards the palace. "Best hurry, depending on how annoyed she is this may take a while."

Shiro took off running and I turned and watched him then went back to my knife. "What, is he too slow for once?" I looked down at Michel and sighed. "Brother, I'm not going to fight right now. Here, you can have this. It is boring to look at the many dimensions in the world." With a single toss it was at his feet and I was getting up then jumping easily onto the wall of the palace that was about ten feet away and sitting down.

My eyes slowly began to close as I lied down and slowly began to fall asleep. "Look out!" I dodged a knife then turned and grabbed it before sending in the direction it came from then I caught two out of the air and threw them back. Three men fell to the ground dead and I stood their gasping in surprise before jumping down and looking at my brother. "Don't startle me like that. I was in the middle of a decent dream of death." He watched me for a minute then sighed. "I can't tell any longer if you joke or if you speak the truth."

I shrugged then walked towards the palace and then lied down on the couch before passing out once more.

"Why does she sleep so much?" "Kida has two parts of her. When she was still in our mother's womb she had a twin. Well, the twin was a fighter and always fought with Kida. After a bit she fought too much and her soul became one with Kida's while the body died. It takes a lot out of her to keep the other half at bay." "How did you know this?" There was a bit of silence then a sigh. "Because, our mother told me. I was born after Kida so I didn't know but I asked her after Kida had taken down a robber and I asked her how she did it and she didn't even know what I was talking about. Her twin protects her and the ones around her, but it also depends on how much she fights as well. If she fights a lot then the twin slowly starts taking over if not then she is fine and normal once more."

I slowly opened my eyes and yawned. "Mmm, I should go see to the kids." A part of me was saying why bother, they didn't seem to enjoy my help too much. Shaking my head I got up then frowned. "Where is my actual clothes?" Shiro exchanged looks with Michel as he smiled. "Now that is the Kida I know. Come on, I'll help you change." He led the way to a room and I easily changed into my clothes then frowned. "Why is there a hole in the shoulder? Did Kadar get into another fight?" He nodded and I sighed then shook my head. "He can be a stubborn one at times. Well, at least I can try to keep him under control after all these years."

He slowly nodded as Kadar took control once more and looked about and sighed. "It is nice that I'm not wearing female clothes." Michel chuckled then watched me as I walked out of the room then right out of the palace and into the stables. Thunder stood there waiting patiently for me. "Let's ride." He came up to me and I easily jumped onto his back before he took off running. His black mane trailed over my shoulder and in my face while his tail was like a flag behind us.

His whole body seemed to suggest strong and majestic. His speed showed that of practice beyond compare thanks to me and the children always riding him around the desert. "Thank you, Thunder, what would I do without you, my trusty steed."

With that we were at the house to find everything had been abandoned. There was blood covering the ground everywhere I went. I turned to Thunder. "Take me to the children." I got on his back and he led me to our old hideout to find everyone lying on their mats. Some were injured and some sick as I ran into the room and frowned. "What is this I come back to find?" Everyone gasped then got to their feet and came up to me. "Kadar, we were attacked. Erin managed to defend us pretty well and killed a lot of them till we were safe." Erin came out of the corner of the room with the help of another child and I frowned.

"Alright, one side injured the other shall help me take care of them." They looked at me in surprise then got to work on helping the injured to one side of the house while those who weren't went to the other. After counting up the injured I frowned. "Hmm, ten injured out of thirty kids. Erin, I would have to say that you did a decent job. Though, I would recommend more speed."

He chuckled as I looked at the kids able to help me. "Get some towels and get them wet, looks as though we shall have a long day ahead of us as to cleaning their wounds." For the rest of the day that is what we did until the sun finally set then we stopped and let the kids rest while I watched over them.


	4. Take Cover

My eyes scanned the area around us without stopping once. With every noise of the night I jumped with surprise or fear. So many things could go wrong in the night that can't happen in the day for there are many dangers to the night. Slowly, the hours past till at last day came then I went into the house and lied down on my mat while the kids got back to caring for the injured kids. Slowly, my eyes closed after I mumbled to wake me when it's almost nightfall.

"How long has he been here?" "I can't say. We can't keep track of time in this place that easily but I do know that he wants us to wake him pretty soon." Shiro's voice was soft along with Michel's as he responded. "He needs to learn to let others do look out and not push himself. His shoulder isn't even healed yet and he's already trying to strain it." There was silence and I grumbled something about them picking on me before slowly opening my eyes and sitting up.

A frown came to my face as I heard something that I shouldn't be hearing during the day. Grabbing a sword from the basement I walked out of the house to find the raiders that have been trying to raid our house for years now. "If it isn't the prince of thieves." A small smile came to my face and I unsheathed the sword before throwing the case to the side. It landed lightly on its side and I could hear the crunch of sand underneath it.

"Get out of our way, boy. You know we can defeat you easily." I frowned and pushed my shoulders back before getting into my stance with my sword looking as though it would cut my face in half if I pulled it too close. "Just try to get past me this time." Thunder appeared and he charged at the horses spooking them like always and they threw their riders off their backs.

Curse upon curse reached my ears but I was only watching to see what they would do when they got up. I watched Thunder retreat then dodged a sword to the head before stabbing the man in the stomach and pulling it out before blocking an attack and kicking another in the knee. A crunch reached my ears then a howl of pain as they fell onto their back while holding their knee to their chest. "That won't help." My voice was rough as I turned to the next one only to find someone trying to get past.

Closing my eyes I bowed my head then centered myself before opening my eyes and going after the person. My moves were but a blur now as I cut him in half then went to the next one. By the time that they realized it was a losing battle I had cut down over half of their group. I watched them as they took off running then I closed my eyes as I began to sway and opened them to the group had gotten on their horses that were hiding amongst the trees before riding off.

Looking at the dead around me I chuckled softly then felt arms catch me as I began to fall. I closed my eyes as black dots began to swarm before my eyes and there came a sigh. "She's too tired to be fighting like this." "I'm surprised that she even got this many destroyed in the condition that she's in."

There was a chuckle and I passed out.

"Let her sleep, I don't care if it's almost nightfall or not. She needs to rest." There came a sigh and I whimpered in pain from my shoulder as a hand lightly touched it. "Yeah, I think you're right for once, Michel." The hand disappeared and I slowly opened my eyes then tried to sit up only to find it hurt too much to even move my one shoulder.

"Kadar, lie down you fool!" I relaxed then looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "For once I wish that Kota was here. He would let me move around when I hurt myself." There was a laugh and I frowned then looked over at Erin. "No, that was one of the twins that would watch you when he was gone. Usually, he would tackle you so that you were forced to lie down otherwise you would keep moving."

I cocked my head slightly as though deep in thought then shrugged. "Guess you're right. I'm losing it then. Getting too old to be playing prince of thieves." There was a sigh then a foot lightly hit my head and I frowned then looked up at Michel. "Don't kick me, I'm older than you." He rolled his eyes then shook his head. "You need to stop frowning at yourself. You're not too old you're just too weak at the minute. Heck, you're the only one I know that could take on forty raiders and still survive with only fifteen left to talk about you."

A surprised look came to my face. "Yep, I counted them and found that was how many survived." I closed my eyes and sighed. "Alright, I guess I'm not too old, just too weak for my liking." With that I got to my feet and Erin tried to knock me down with Michel's help. "Get back here!" I played dodge the kids while laughing with the injured. "Well, this is something interesting. Kadar, why are you dodging them?" "They are trying to get me to rest and I don't want to."

Shiro sighed and shook his head at me before slowly walking up to me then managing to catch me in his arms. "Let's just do as they ask for once. If you want you can rest on the second floor then you can still keep watch without having to worry for once." I sighed and let him lead me upstairs as Erin carried a mat behind us. "How did you figure out that compromise?" "By knowing how he is."

There was a shocked silence as we reached the upstairs and we went into the first room we saw and Erin put the mat inside as Shiro helped me lie down before leaving the room with Erin. Within seconds I fell asleep.

"Let her dream, Michel, it's not often that she gets to rest and when she does it's because she wore herself out the day or night before." I curled up on my side and relaxed as a hand lightly touched my injured shoulder and began to lightly knead it. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" My eyes snapped open as I said ow then I sat up and moved away from Michel. "Don't touch my shoulder!"

He laughed then slowly came over to me. "Lie down so that I can massage it again. Otherwise it won't heal right." A frown came to my face as I stood up using the wall as a support then I began to stretch my shoulder out until it was aching from over use and strain. "Okay, now try that and you might have more fun." Rolling his eyes he dug his elbow into my shoulder and I cried out in pain as he began to move it about causing tears to come to my eyes.

At last he stopped as black dots danced before my eyes. "Are… you… don't torturing me?" He laughed at the idea of torture. "Yes, I'm done." With that he got up and left the room with Shiro. Moving onto my back I sighed against the feeling of the cold ground touching my shoulder before I passed out.

"Well, looks as though her shoulder is healing well. That is a good thing and by the way that she tries to move it all the time is another good thing because then it will heal correctly." I could feel cold air touching my wound and I grumbled something then moved away from a hand that was lightly touching it. "Don't touch." My voice was a yawn as I managed smack the hand away then put the bandage in place.

Everyone watched me as I got to my feet then I walked out of the room and down the stairs then out of the house before managing to climb up the wall and onto the roof. At the top of the house I sat down and watched the area for any signs of trouble that would come sooner or later. "You're supposed to rest. Not keep look out." I turned and looked at Shiro before rolling my eyes. "Shiro, I'm their only hope to survive this world. If I don't watch over them and protect them then no one can because they will die."

Standing up I sighed then looked back into the distance where the city was. "You should head home, they are probably worried about you enough as it is." There was silence then I could hear him climbing down the side of the building as I closed my eyes and sighed. I didn't want to be mean to him but I had to send him away or else he would never take care of his responsibilities in the city.

I watched him get on his white horse and ride away as Thunder watched him go before turning back to the herd. One of the kids must have grabbed the horses that had been in the trees because I could see brown ones as well. Suddenly, Thunder was on the move bringing the herd into the house and I looked into the distance to see a sandstorm coming. With a single jump I was on the ground as the last of the horses got into the house. Thunder suddenly appeared at my side and I jumped onto his back. "Erin! Get everyone inside! Sandstorm!" He appeared and stared at me as I let Thunder go after Shiro.

Thunder ran as fast as he could till we were by Shiro's side. "Go back, Sandstorm!" Shiro stared at me in shock as I looked over my shoulder and cursed. "It's here." With that Thunder came to a stop and I got off his back as he lied down. Taking in a deep breath I hid on the otherside of him as Shiro pulled his horse down to be on the side of Thunder then hid next to me. "What will we do once it's gone?" "Help the horses get out of the sand." That was all I could say before the winds picked up beyond compare and sand whipped into our faces.

Closing my eyes I hid myself into Thunder as Shiro covered his face with his hood then pulled me a little closer so that we were protected a little better. After what seemed like forever the storm slowly subsided and I pulled away from Shiro then stood up and shook off the sand before looking at Thunder to find only his head and a little of his back was showing along with the white horse.

Shaking my head I began to get the sand off of him as the white horse stood up and Shiro went over to it then dusted it off. "Thank you, Kida, you saved me." I said nothing as I got onto Thunder's back then looked about before heading back to the house. His pace increased at the sight of the house looming ahead of us with the healthy kids already waiting for us. "You guys okay?" "Yeah, a little surprised. Thanks for the warning. We had enough time to get everyone in the basement before the winds came."

I laughed then looked at the sky as I slid off Thunder's back. "Hmm, looks as though that was at least a bell long." Shaking my head I looked at Thunder as he went to go lead his herd out of the house and back into the field.

"Damage?" "The grass and stuff is all covered but the horses know how to get rid of it. The water got a bit covered along with our crops but we can always dust them off and the water will settle." I nodded while deep in thought then I walked into the house and went into the basement to find all the animals were okay and their source of food was fine as well. Walking back to the main area I relaxed at the sight of everyone keeping the injured entertained and happy.

"I guess there is no reason to freak out any longer." My voice was soft as I walked out of the house then climbed onto the roof and looked about the area to find everything was covered in a little bit of sand compared to the open dessert that had more sand to cover people with.

"How does it look up there, Kadar!" I looked over the side and Michel and smiled. "Not that bad, looks like we didn't get the worse of the storm this time, must have come from the north since only the forest got hit the worst." He nodded then walked into the house as I watched Shiro bring his horse into the area then let it go to the field before coming to my side. "Why do you bother saving me?"

"Because, that is what friends do and Kida wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't save your worthless butt." Shiro stared at me for a minute then laughed causing me to jump as Kida took over and pushed me to the furthest part of her thoughts so that I couldn't see them. "Shiro, don't pester Kadar. He's trying so hard to keep me happy and you. Besides, he saved you because you remind him of someone from our past." We looked at Michel as he walked to the fields to play with Thunder.

"Wait you mean…" "Michel wasn't far from the oasis when we saw the storm. The instant we saw it we also saw him. He had passed out on the sand from dehydration. Quickly, we had jumped down and rode Thunder out to him before coming back and hiding in the basement with Kota. After the storm passed Kota nursed him back to health while I kept watch over the oasis. It was a hard couple weeks because all he would do was mumble about a caravan and we didn't realize it was about my parents and his."

I became silent as I looked back over the desert to find it looking as normal as it could get. "I didn't know." Michel looked up at me from the field and waved then I did the same back at him before looking at Shiro. "Not many do." With that I yawned then jumped down from the roof and landed lightly on the ground before walking into the house. "About time you came down. You need to rest for once." I shrugged then walked up to my room and cleared off my mat before lying down and falling asleep.

"I knew all about their history. Kota had told me so that I could understand our leader a bit more. He did with all Kadar's followers. We always knew that Kadar was special and we always knew that one day he would have to leave. He just doesn't want to yet and we can't push him for he isn't ready to leave yet either. First he must find someone to take his place then he must teach them before he hands them the rights to be the prince of thieves like him."

There was silence and I opened my eyes before sitting up and getting off the mat before taking a running start then jumping out the window and landing lightly on Thunder's back as he ran under the window. "Good boy." Thunder took to the city faster than normal for he could sense what I could. An heir.


End file.
